Calling all existing PADI IDC Staff Instructors !
With the release of the newly revised PADI IDC curriculum late last year, now is the time to update your skills and knowledge. If you are an active IDC Staff Instructor – assisting on IDCs or teaching Assistant Instructor courses – you will need to be updated before you can teach the revised curriculum…
The launch of the revised IDC was highly anticipated, and having taught a couple of courses in the new format, the new materials and changes are being very well received by students and staff alike. The new materials are great, and the move towards a more digitalised IDC fits with the modern world, where technology is key. The new digital IDC Crew Pak also now means it’s much easier to get the materials to students in advance, so they can start their preparations immediately. As an IDC Staff Instructor, you will need to be familiar with these new materials before staffing an IDC or teaching a revised AI course.The new materials are now downloadable to the new PADI Training App or usable via the new online eLearning platform. There is a digital IDC Crew Pak for the IDC candidates, and a separate digital pack for the staff – Instructor Development Materials. Both are already available in a myriad of languages:

One of the first tasks when completing a PADI IDC Staff instructor Update will be to familiarise you with both sets of the new materials. We will investigate how the new IDC Lesson Guides have evolved, and the way they sit within the framework of the revisions. The staff presentations during the new IDC are a little different than before – we now have an emphasis on helping the candidates to ‘think like an instructor’ through a series of staff-led workshops. There’s much more teamwork and more group discussions to foster this approach, so after the IE, the IDC candidates will be even more prepared to hit the ground running with their own student divers.
We will then take a close look at the new standards changes that have arrived with the new curriculum. The Watermanship requirements have now changed, as have the requirements for the skill circuit, amongst others. The skill circuit now boasts a few new skills, such as Emergency Weight Drop and Loose Cylinder Band. Also, to add more emphasis on neutral buoyancy, in order to score a 5.0, two skills must now be demonstrated whilst neutrally buoyant – Regulator Recovery and Mask Remove & Replace. At Lanta Diver, we prefer to complete the entire skill circuit whilst neutrally buoyant to exceed the standards, and to encourage fully neutral teaching in the future.
The evaluation criteria for the candidate presentations has also undergone a few adjustments and changes. Firstly, for the in-water presentations, we have a new slate. Just one. The old Confined Water Evaluation Slate and the Open Water Evaluation Slate have now been combined into one convenient slate called the Confined And Open Water Evaluation Slate. We can now score either style of presentation on the same slate. The new curriculum also allows for candidates to teach certain skills without a certified assistant, and some of the open water presentations now require demonstrations. We will also see the evolution of the student slates. The student lesson preparation slates have also been combined into one slate.
The evaluation criteria for the knowledge development presentations have also been revised. We will spend some time talking through the new scoring system, and making sure all the changes are understood. There is also a revised ‘How To Prepare A Teaching Presentation’ video, and then you will be ready to deliver a role-model Knowledge Development presentation of your own.
After a couple of days going through all the revisions, you will then be authorised to conduct Instructor Development training within the remit of the new curriculum. You will be able to independently certify Assistant Instructors and also be qualified to assist Course Directors and staff IDC which follow the revised format.
If you are interested in updating you PADI IDCS credentials, or indeed in becoming an IDC Staff Instructor, please feel free to send us an email to find out more – rich@lantadiver.com
We can conduct IDC Staff Instructor Updates at any time. If you are a PADI MSDT, and are looking to become a PADI IDC Staff Instructor, then the best way is to join us a few days before a full IDC begins so you can put your new knowledge to immediate effect by then following the course, Our next PADI IDC is scheduled to begin on 23rd September…